Brussels (AFP)

The EU pledged Thursday to retaliate against US sanctions on European products, hoping nevertheless to reach an amicable agreement with Washington to prevent the escalation of a damaging trade war on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tensions between Europe and the United States resurfaced on Wednesday when Washington said it wants to hit $ 7.5 billion worth of punitive tariffs from the EU after being given the go-ahead by the WTO as part of the 15-year legal battle between Boeing and Airbus.

The response from Brussels, which is negotiating on behalf of the 28 EU member states, has not been long in coming: "If the US imposes sanctions, they will push the EU to do the same," he said. keeps a spokesman for the European Commission, Daniel Rosario, at a press point.

Same story for the spokesperson of the French government Sibeth Ndiaye who said on BFMTV and RMC that Paris provided "retaliatory measures" against the United States in consultation with the European Union.

"Regretting" the US decision, Rosario said the additional customs duties expected to come into effect on Oct. 18 "will affect US consumers and businesses first and foremost."

They will indeed have to pay more for products they are fond of or need.

The taxes will target products manufactured by France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the four partners of the European consortium Airbus.

Civil aircraft may be exported to the United States at a price plus 10%, while wines, cheeses, olives, shells or axes and screwdrivers will be charged a 25% increase.

-Tariffs on cars-

The dialogue is not broken, however.

On the American side, we always promise to "hope to start negotiations" with the European Union. And the EU also keeps the door open: "We take into account the statement of the US Trade Representative that the US has planned to negotiate with the European Union to solve this problem," said Rosario .

"The European Commission has invariably communicated to the United States that the EU is ready to work towards a fair and balanced solution for our respective aviation industries," he added.

"We have been advocating for this trade agreement for months now, we are reaching out, and I hope that the United States will listen to this voice, which I believe is the voice of wisdom," said French Minister of Economy Bruno. The Mayor, calling these sanctions "deep economic error".

According to a study by the firm Euler Hermes, France is the country that has the most to lose in this early trade dispute.

Annual losses for the European Union could amount to $ 9.7 billion, including $ 2.4 billion for France, or 0.1 point of growth.

In a mirror procedure - in the context of the battle of the two rival aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus - the WTO should, at the beginning of 2020, allow the EU to impose customs duties as well in response to undue subsidies paid this time by Washington to the American aircraft manufacturer.

These are not the first US taxes on European products, since since June 1, steel and aluminum are subject to tariffs to reduce the US trade deficit.

In retaliation, the EU has targeted US products such as Harley-Davidson, bourbon or jeans.

After a relative truce, the risk of an escalation of the sanctions is henceforth not to be excluded. Donald Trump is to decide by November 13 whether or not to impose additional tariffs on cars imported from the EU, a threat particularly feared by Berlin.

© 2019 AFP